Mets Remain Phillies-Focused

Subway Series Provides a Lift, But NL East Rivalry Still Is What Matters Most

ENLARGE

Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez celebrates after getting the final out in Sunday night's win over the Yankees.
Getty Images

By

Mike Sielski

Updated May 25, 2010 12:01 a.m. ET

Afterward, after he had struck out Alex Rodriguez with two on and two out and saved the Mets' 6-4 victory over the Yankees on Sunday night, after the cameras had left the perimeter of his locker, Francisco Rodriguez stayed there and pretended to be A-Rod instead of K-Rod.

He had thrown three full-count pitches before finally fanning Alex Rodriguez on a changeup up and in, and he spent 10 minutes pantomiming the Yankees slugger's movements in the batter's box, detailing from memory how he had pitched him, how he had noticed that Mr. Rodriguez had leaned over the plate to foul off an outside fastball on the previous pitch, and how a changeup on the inside corner was the perfect rebuttal.

"In those types of situations," he said, "you don't even feel your body."

He spoke with the relish of a craftsman explaining the intricacies of his trade to a new apprentice, and for good reason. The strikeout was the most electrifying moment of the Mets' season. But it wasn't the most important. It wasn't even the most important moment of their week.

That's the thing about the Subway Series. It's fun, and it stokes both the passions of New York's baseball fans and, for last weekend anyway, the Mets' sagging attendance figures.

In practical terms, though, the Mets might as well have taken two of three from the Seattle Mariners.

The Mets literally aren't in the same league as the Yankees, so the series has less tangible impact than the one the Mets are about to begin Tuesday night: three games at Citi Field against the Philadelphia Phillies—the three-time defending NL East champs, the two-time defending NL champs and the team that holds first place in the division now.

"Of course," the Phillies series is more important, third baseman David Wright said. "It's good to win series no matter who they're against, but we really need to focus on Philadelphia, starting now. That's who we're chasing.

"They're one of the National League's finest. We understand that, with what we want to accomplish, you're going to have to go through Philadelphia."

The irony of the Subway Series was that, for all the scuttlebutt around the Mets (22-23) about manager Jerry Manuel's future and the team's struggles, the team finished the series just five games behind the Phillies in the NL East—hardly an insurmountable deficit so early in the regular season.

While the Mets were beating the Yankees on Saturday and Sunday, the Phillies lost twice to the Boston Red Sox; in fact, they were nearly no-hit by Daisuke Matsuzaka on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park.

So the Phillies are in a bit of a slump, and the Mets have some wind in their sails. (Even better for the Mets, they won't have to face Phillies ace pitcher Roy Halladay in the series; Mr. Halladay started, and lost, Sunday.)

If they were to somehow sweep the Phillies, the Mets would gain five games in the standings over just six days.

"That's what you try to do," infielder Alex Cora said. "You can't focus on the whole stretch, the whole 162 games. You've got to take it series by series, and obviously…there are some series that you can win more games than other ones. This is an important series for us."

Mr. Wright mentioned that there is a natural rivalry between the Phillies and Mets because of the teams' place in the same division and their geographical proximity.

But that is a relatively recent development. Before the last half decade, the franchises had rarely fielded quality teams at the same time.

During the Phillies' glory years of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Mets were usually bottom-feeders in the NL East, and whenever the Mets have reached the postseason in the last quarter-century (1986, 1988, 1999, 2000, 2006), they've done so at the expense of some very flawed Phillies teams.

In fact, until just after the 2006 season, when the Mets won the division by 12 games, it was fair for them to consider the Phillies an afterthought.

No more. As Mr. Wright said, the Phillies are the team the Mets are chasing. They're the real white whale here.

The victories over the Yankees were fine for the Mets. They were fun.

But unless K-Rod is back in front of his locker Thursday night, delivering a similar dissertation on Ryan Howard or Chase Utley, they won't mean very much.

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